A former CIA software engineer, Joshua Schulte, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for his convictions related to the biggest theft of classified information in CIA history and possession of child sexual abuse images and videos. Schulte, aged 35, was sentenced in Manhattan federal court for his role in the embarrassing public release of CIA secrets by WikiLeaks in 2017. The so-called Vault 7 leak revealed CIA hacking activities involving Apple and Android smartphones for overseas spying, as well as attempts to turn internet-connected televisions into listening devices. Schulte, who had helped create the hacking tools while working at the CIA’s headquarters, has been in jail since 2018.
Judge Jesse M. Furman, during sentencing, expressed that the damage caused by the leaks was massive, though the full extent may never be known. Assistant U.S. Attorney David William Denton Jr. requested a life sentence, stating that Schulte was responsible for the most damaging disclosures of classified information in American history. Schulte complained about harsh conditions in jail but also claimed that prosecutors had offered him a plea deal of a 10-year prison sentence, which he rejected as it required him to relinquish his right to appeal.
The judge criticized Schulte for his lack of remorse and acceptance of responsibility. Furman noted that Schulte’s actions were driven by anger and spite against others at the agency who he believed had ignored his complaints about the work environment. The judge emphasized the severe harm caused to U.S. national security and the CIA, including financial costs and risks to personnel and assets. Schulte’s actions were deemed to have inflicted heavy costs on the United States.
Schulte’s original 2020 trial ended in a mistrial when jurors deadlocked on the most serious counts, but he was convicted in a July 2022 trial related to the classified leak. He was also convicted in a case involving child sexual abuse images. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams described Schulte’s crimes as some of the most brazen, heinous acts of espionage in American history, involving both classified information leaks and an “information war” waged from behind bars.
By Larry Neumeister, Associated Press
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